Gravity
by Stellar Lily
Summary: Rose was dying to be normal. When she is thrown into the world of Tony Stark and the Avengers she is forced to give up what she'd had as a life to fight for her father. Rose becomes less normal everyday: She is changing, and there are a precious few who can help her understand what is happening to her mind and the darker powers that are taking hold of her world. (CACW) OCxPP
1. Chapter 1: Turning Tides

The door was opening. Rose's heart beat faster. The door had never been open before. A shiver ran down her spine, an iced blade carving a jagged line down her back.

She reached a tentative hand out. It was so close. . . If only she was a little faster, and the fog wasn't becoming thicker, she'd make it. With a sudden burst of energy, Rose threw herself at the widening entrance.

The heavy door swung open, a gaping mouth of blackness.

Rose stepped in. He heart was beating a mile a minute and her body felt like ice. She peered forward, her eyes staring against the black.

Suddenly something lunged at her from the shadows.

Rose let out a scream as she fell.

* * *

Reality. It had become a funny thing lately. When one couldn't tell the difference between it and dreams, things became quite complicated.

Rose remembered what Tony had said to her when she brought this up; reality was something we created ourselves and in a world with superheroes, reality was becoming ever closer to what was once thought to be the stuff of dreams.

Rose sat against her bedroom wall, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees.

Why couldn't she be normal? She would have given the world just to walk the streets of New York as a normal kid. Eat ice cream. Make friends. Even go to school. She'd retake Calculus at this point if that was what it took.

Rose wished she could talk to Pepper. She was the mother she never, or might have, had. But Pepper was gone. Rose was still not sure what happened between her and Tony. It seemed like they had had a falling out. But it had been a quiet one. No yelling. No fighting. One morning Rose went to get breakfast and Pepper was already sitting at the table, her bags packed and her plane ticket sitting next to her purse.

They needed a break she had said. Pepper had walked out, all business and forced smiles. Rose didn't even say goodbye.

Rose laughed at herself. Why was she such a drama queen? Hell, she needed someone to give her a good, hard slap in the face. Wake her up from her musings about reality and get her to move forward. She would've asked Natasha to do it, but that probably would leave her hospitalized for a week.

Here she was, reminiscing about Pepper and feeling sorry for her oh-so scary nightmares with an even scarier door when Tony was dealing with. . . well, everything.

Not for the first time in her short seventeen years, Rose wished she actually had something useful to do. Or contribute. She stared out the window, watching the sun slowly make its ascent into the sky.

Nope. Rose had the sass of Tony Stark and the agility and coordination of a freshly run over squirrel. So nothing in the superhero department. Instead of helping earth's mightiest heroes and kicking some serious butt, she was getting really good at solitaire and making banana smoothies.

Okay, fine. Her smoothies still sucked and her solitaire game was not strong. Boo.

It wasn't her fault she had a brain. And a knack for guessing Tony's passcode to the lab. And when she wasn't feeling lucky, a handy hammer or assorted explosive to break that pathetic excuse for glass next to the door.

She had tried every argument to work with Tony. She had this great idea that what if. . .(that one never worked), and the brilliant, "Tony I can't keep playing Chem Lab in my bedroom forever. . ."

Nothing convinced him. You'd think that graduating from college at sixteen would warrant you the right to make things blow up and physically use a fully functioning lab in the basement.

Instead Rose was on housewife duty. Clean the floor, dust the countertops, and "if you even _think_ about using one of my cars you've got another thing coming, Rose."

Oh yeah. And she was Tony Stark's daughter. That biggie.

* * *

Rose wasn't really sure if Tony counted as her dad, per se. He was more like that glorified, billionaire uncle with too much time and far too many cool connections.

Her mom had dumped her unceremoniously at an orphanage as soon as she was born. "See ya, kid! Have a great life!" was the approximate narrative of a mother who didn't want a child and couldn't be bothered to tell her father. Somehow Tony had found out that her mother had had a daughter. With him. And she had just neglected to say squat. Thanks, Mom. Rose didn't care much for the mother she would never have. She had Tony. She had had Pepper. Now she had Natasha.

Tony being the loving and caring person he was, picked her up and sent her off to boarding school as soon as she had defied gravity and learned to walk on two legs. Those had been some fun years. Rose didn't think he did this because he didn't want her; she believed it was because he just wasn't ready for a child at the time. He kept in contact with her, calling once a month and sending the occasional email. She was happy he hadn't left her to grow up without parents; if she knew anything, it was that loneliness was something you couldn't erase from childhood.

Looking back, Rose owed it all to Tony. She may not call him Dad, but he had essentially saved her. He had taken her back in mid-way through High School, gave her a room in Stark Towers, and told her not to blow anything up and graduate asap. She succeeded at the second.

Life was pretty normal for a while. Rose grew close with Pepper and learned to love the sound of JARVIS's voice and his ability to run both equations and Tony's household. She became comfortable with her self-driven education and isolation from other people. She had been thirteen at the time.

Then the Avengers happened. Followed shortly after by Killian and the whole Ultron fiasco. Rose became incredibly distant from Tony, as he didn't want anyone but Pepper to know about her to ensure her safety. When it became impossible to keep her hidden any longer, Tony sent Rose away to Oxford. She completed her Ph.D. in medical sciences and engineering. She graduated with top marks, both loathed and adored at sixteen under the false name, Rosa Finch.

In England, it turned into a waiting game. A really long one. She couldn't leave the country for fear of being discovered as a Stark, and couldn't accept any serious jobs without being found by SHIELD. SHIELD did eventually find her, but Tony forbade them from hiring or immersing her into the mess of the world. The year dragged on, and she spent her seventeenth birthday with a few people she could barely call friends and a short video session with Pepper and Tony.

Rose's social life was pretty sub-standard. When everyone around her was ten or more years older she found her options limited. She was still very much a teenager; she wanted to go out and have fun like the rest of the people her age. She dated a few guys on and off, but found them too dull and was annoyed by the fact that they were intimidated by her intelligence. She wasn't a player like Tony. The thought of engaging in such activities so young made her, quite frankly, terrified. She became isolated and irksome. She was traditionally an extreme extrovert; her sarcasm and sass had gotten her in trouble more than once.

When Tony called and said Rose could come home, she began to realize maybe she could finally think of Tony as a semblance of a father. All it took was that one glorious word: Home.

Something that had seemed nonexistent for such a long time. When Rose heard him say that word she was already packing.

She was on a flight to New York the next day. Rose stopped at the Stark Tower to pick up her things she had left before moving to the UK three years prior. She hadn't grown much, so most of her clothes still fit her. Rose wished she would be staying there; although she would never admit it out loud, the prospect of staying with the Avengers terrified her. She would miss the comforting presence of JARVIS, who was somehow Vision now, and the soaring building with its sweeping views.

* * *

After a short drive out of the city, Rose ended up at the New Avengers Facility with a small room and orders from Tony not to make direct eye contact with anyone and to stay put. Nice.

So Rose ended up attempting to break into the lab and training room that same day, consequently meeting everyone after a beautiful introduction by Tony via firm talking to and "herby banning you from this establishment" speech. Had he honestly expected her to stay put after years of sitting around?

All of them, being Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Sam, seemed perfectly fine with Rose upon Tony introducing her to the Avengers: "Fellow heroes, spawn. Spawn, heroes."

"Thanks, Tony." Rose said, noting the chuckle from Sam and the friendly faces from the others. "And since when have I been referred to as spawn?"

"Since now. Thanks to you I have to fix this perfectly good door. Where did you get a hammer anyways?" Tony inquired, his face the perfect mix of confused at having to play 'Dad' and angry.

Rose shrugged. Someone had left it lying around. Not that she was going to say that.

"Wait, this is your daughter, Tony?" Natasha had asked. "Why have we never heard about her, let alone met her?"

 _Good point,_ thought Rose.

"Because I've got crazy protective fatherly instincts and decided studying abroad would be great for her," Tony sighed.

"But now, with the whole world blowing up and cities falling from the sky I thought it would be safer to bring her here." Tony glanced sideways at Rose and then at the shattered glass. "Apparently it wasn't."

Clint chose this opportune moment of sideways glaring to ask, "Is she like you?" He said the question jokingly, clearly not meaning offense.

Oh, whoop. The big question. Would there now be two Tonys instead of one?

Tony glanced at Rose for a second, considering how to drop the the bomb of his, albeit genius, uninteresting child. Rose was sure that was how he perceived her. All brains and no party.

He chose a surprisingly eloquent answer, one that Rose would find herself analyzing later for sarcasm.

"Rosalyn Elizabeth Stark is my daughter by blood and her brain, dare I say it, is bigger than mine at times. She has good aim with a gun, terrible aim with a punch, and enjoys knitting in her spare time."

It was a good shpeal except for the last part. Rose hated knitting. Her roommate had had an obsession with it and by the end of the year Rose had been one more "click click" of the knitting needles away from stabbing her own eyes out. She wondered how Tony knew about that. Unless the comment was random, which she doubted it was.

Still, the brain comment felt good. Rose shook all their hands, beginning to feel more welcome here than anywhere she had ever been before.

* * *

Rose closed her eyes and smiled remembering that day. It had been so simple. She got along great with Natasha and was one high five away from calling Clint her older brother. Wanda was aloof, Vision made her heart stop every other day with his habit of traveling through walls, and Steve was Mr. America and courteous as hell. Sam was hilarious and Rhodey had that leader spark. They all were amazing, and Rose felt dwarfed in their shadows and responsibility to protect the world.

It was heartbreaking to see them fall apart. Steve with Bucky and the government's need to control the Avengers became Tony's world.

He was fighting his own friend. It was taking its toll. After Wanda broke out with Clint, who Rose hadn't seen in three months, things went rapidly downhill. He was working tirelessly with the government, looking for a way out and a way to make everything right. He was unstable now; Pepper had left and friend was fighting friend.

Rose stopped trying to get into the lab to mess around. She tried to be helpful. Even if it meant playing maid and staying out of everyone's way.

She was dying for something to do. Although several things were worrying her. She had been having the reoccurring door dream. Waking up in a cold sweat had been bad enough, but this morning she had woken up screaming. She couldn't remember what she saw. No one came running in, confirming either that the walls were soundproof or no one was there to come check on her. She suspected the later was true.

The second was her headache. It had lasted for a week now, and she had tried everything to get rid of it. She had even purposely stubbed her toe to make the pain in her head seem less horrible. That had not been a wise move, as now both her head and toe hurt.

Rose had been keeping to herself and disturbing the Avenger scramble as little as possible. She couldn't bother anyone with her stupid problems. They were insignificant compared to the insanity going on with Cap and Tony. She had asked Tony if he needed any help with designing. She had been rejected.

So Rose was a bored and frustrated teenager, sitting in her room, counting sheep. Why couldn't she be normal? Have boy problems or something? Be worried about exams?

But that wasn't her. She knew it. She was a Stark and if a Stark does anything, it sure as hell isn't normal.

She was stuck indoors; Tony was going to insane lengths to keep SHIELD away from her and her genius quiet. Rose instead designed planes in her room, worked on material design and casual engineering, allowing her mind to wander and expand. She occasionally worked out on the side, still praying she would one day be of use and maybe get to fight.

Rose stood up, her back hurting from playing philosoph and sitting against a wall for an hour. She stretched and yawned, preparing for a day of slow designing and research.

She glanced out the window, the rising sun blinding her and illuminating her emerald eyes.

Rose felt like something was about to change, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Hello! I'm trying out something quite new here when it comes to fanfiction. I've never done an OC before but I figured I'd give it a shot. Please R/R and tell me what you think about this intro and the character I'm laying out. Any comments are welcome!**

 **I am really excited about Rose and her character's potential - I feel like I can make her connect with other characters and create someone worth rooting for. I know this intro might have been tedious, but please stick with me and be ready for more lighthearted and fun chapters to come! There will be a lot more dialogue in the coming chapters - it won't be nonstop narration forever.**

 **\- Stella**


	2. Chapter 2: Spark

Rose was trying really hard not to shoot herself in the foot.

When Tony had said she had good aim with a gun he wasn't lying. Natasha was having her on a mobile shooting obstacle course and it was becoming blindingly apparent both her body and mind were not into it.

Rose had done cross country in High School because it was the only sport she trusted herself not to face plant in. So when her nonexistent coordination and perfect aim was paired with running, jumping, and dodging. . . It could be said she missed spectacularly.

"You are at the absolute height of your physical capabilities at this age, Rosalyn!" Natasha called across the room.

Rose grunted in response, both too tired and too annoyed from being called by her full first name to respond.

She vaulted over a metal beam placed lengthways across the ground and fired at the moving target on the left wall. She missed. Again.

"Stop!" called Natasha. She jumped down from the ledge she was perched on and began walking towards Rose, who was breathing heavily.

"I have to say, Rosalyn, your aim is actually not bad. However, when you are concentrating on your feet so much your shots are haphazard and spontaneous. I'm afraid you are not ready for spontaneity yet," Natasha quipped.

Rose was still breathing heavy. "Thanks," she mumbled out and began to shake out her sore arm.

"Rose. Look at me," Natasha said. "You are not as uncoordinated as you think you are. It will just take time and practice. You said you wanted to learn how to fight, yes?"

Rose gave a slow nod.

"You will never learn unless you start believing you actually have the physical capability to do this. I wouldn't train you if I thought you were a lost cause. Now we are going to get back to work. And you're going to fight like it's your last lesson. If you train that way you will only see improvement."

Rose looked up at Natasha. "I want to learn. I really do. Feeling weak is something I've always hated. But I just feel stupid jumping over stuff and am helpless at hand to hand combat. Is there anything on the side I can do? Push ups or something?"

Natasha gave a small smile. "This kind of thing just takes time. You are already reasonably fit. If you want to work out more on the side it wouldn't hurt. As for actual hand to hand, it would help if you had someone a little more your size and speed."

"Are you calling me short?" Rose glared.

"Of course not, hon. You're a solid five feet of pure ferocity." Natasha smiled.

That earned a frown from Rose and a light pat on the head from Natasha that she ducked to avoid.

"See, you can be fast if you try!" Natasha laughed.

"Only if involves me avoiding my midget physique," Rose said.

"Awe come on. You're not a midget, Rose. Just vertically challenged, is all."

Natasha suddenly sidestepped at a speed that didn't seem humanly possible to avoid the punch Rose had sent her way.

This, for some reason, made Natasha laugh. "Ok, Rose. We'll fight and practice hand to hand. Apparently all it takes to improve your aim is to insult your height. Come on!"

Reluctantly, Rose followed her to the sparing ring, all the while glaring holes into Natasha's back.

Her head was still killing her, but she neglected to say anything to Natasha, both not wanting to seem weak and have her deem Rose unwell and, therefore, unable to train.

* * *

Natasha had made Rose her personal project. It had been two weeks since the bombing in Vienna and three days since Barton had taken Wanda. The disappearance of Rodgers and Wilson seemed to throw Natasha into a frenzy. Wanda's leaving and Barton's choosing of Cap's side was enough to drive her insane.

Rose wasn't really sure what she believed at the moment. Everything was just too confusing. But Natasha seemed determined to teach Rose even if it was grueling and required infinite patience.

Tony had been holed up in the lab for a week now. When Rose commented on this he said he was looking for something. Rose suspected he was looking for someone. The team seemed to be getting smaller every day, which did not bode well if there was to be a confrontation anytime soon.

Rose was actually panicking because Natasha had suggested she fight. She insisted that with some personal training she could really get into assassin-shape, a term she wisely didn't say in front of Tony.

Tony was all for Rose learning self defense, but he said under no condition would she actually be fighting. Rose didn't push it; she was extremely lucky that he had allowed Nat to teach her anything.

Natasha had started her with the basics of shooting and related exercises. Rose was confident with a gun: Tony had all but insisted she learn when she had come to live with him again. JARVIS, before he became Vision, had led her through a basic training program that left her with a deadly shot. Rose wondered if he remembered that. Probably.

Natasha quickly found her problem was not in anyway physical exertion. It was all agility. Rose would have gotten a tattoo on her face or something equally as awful to change that. She was slow to react an move; Natasha had come up with the wonderful analogy that she was more like an old, overweight man than a young, spiritedly teen. Rose took too long to calculate her moves. It was imperative that she move faster and her reflexes became much quicker.

Natasha's method of improving Rose's coordination was to throw literally everything within reach at any given moment at her.

The eightieth time Rose was hit with a tennis ball, _hard_ , mind you, she began to react faster and her reflexes improved. Rose had now been training nonstop for almost two weeks; she hoped she would continue to achieve little victories.

Natasha continued Rose's training as if her life depended on it.

* * *

Rose sidestepped out of the way, just in time to avoid a rather vicious kick from Natasha. She threw her whole body into an uppercut, her other arm blocking an oncoming punch from Natasha.

Natasha blocked her easily, and followed her previous attack with an elbow to Rose's stomach. Ouch. Rose was solely on the defensive and her breathing was coming in short gasps.

Rose kicked out at Natasha's knee, her other leg firmly planted between them. Immediately after Rose followed with a left punch, only to find herself seemingly flying through the air and then in an extremely complex hold with her face pressed against the ground and Natasha's knee digging painfully into her back.

"How the hell do you do that, Nat?" Rose gasped into the ground. Her hair was sticking to her face and the smell of sweat was clinging to her as Natasha had her head still on the mat.

"A whole lot of practice and ability to see obvious openings." Rose knew Natasha was smirking. She just knew it.

"Is there, I dunno, a way for me to get out of this?" Rose said not without a hint of annoyance. Her wrist and neck were killing her.

"Yes," Natasha said.

 _Oh, real helpful_ , thought Rose.

Rose analyzed her predicament. Her legs were free for the most part, but her arms were crossed firmly behind her neck and held in a death grip by Natasha. Her head was pressed into the ground by Natasha's right knee, and her back was squished into the mat by her left.

Rose tried to move her back up slightly only to have Natasha's knee dig deeper into her spine. Rose let out a frustrated huff.

"Nat, I can't even move," Rose said.

"You sure as hell can, Rosalyn. Just think about it. And also as a side note: You will have to be a lot faster in a real fight when you find yourself in a situation like this. The faster you act the less time an enemy with have to strengthen their hold on you," Natasha explained.

"Ok, ok. But what if..." Rose started.

Suddenly it felt like her entire body was hit with an electric shock. At first Rose thought Natasha had tasered her.

Rose threw her hips upward and flew onto her knees, her teeth jarring at the sudden impact and speed at which she did this. This move startled Natasha, causing her to loosen her grip on her arms and lessen the pressure of her knees on Rose's body. Rose tore her hands out of Natasha's grasp and rolled to the side, away from her. Rose kicked out and hit Natasha in the shin.

Rose scrambled to her feet, her mind buzzing with newfound energy. Natasha looked as if she had been shot.

She looked at Rose for some time, taking in her poised stance and flushed cheeks.

A smile crept onto Natasha's face. "I am impressed, Rose. Very impressed. That was brilliant. "

Rose didn't quite let herself relax, but allowed a smile and a small laugh to escape her lips.

"I don't know what came over me," she commented.

"The adrenaline must have kicked in," Natasha shrugged. "Wonderful escape. We can start moving onto harder holds soon."

Natasha took in Rose's bruised and flushed body. Her grey t-shirt was soaked with sweat and she was beginning to look shaky on her legs.

"Tomorrow," Natasha said. "You are dead on your feet right now. That escape might have been luck, but we are going to work to make sure it wasn't. Get some rest and meet me here in the morning."

* * *

Natasha couldn't hide the smile from her face. Rose's escape had been excellent for a beginner. If her aim could improve so could her fighting. She was sure of it.

She wondered, though, how _light_ Rose had suddenly seemed at the moment of her escape.

* * *

Rose felt happy. She had escaped the clutches of the infamous Black Window and hadn't been beaten to pulp right after. Natasha had actually smiled at her.

Rose rushed over to a bench in the corner of the training room to grab her water and bag. The electricity still seemed to be running through her. Making her giddy and jumpy. She was still as tired as all get-out, but the funny energy was persisting.

Rose hurried up the stairs and to her room, thinking that a cold shower was definitely in order. Oh, who was she kidding. She never ended up actually taking a cold shower. She stripped off her sweaty clothes and unceremoniously tossed them on the ground. Rose had never been a neat freak.

The water felt amazing on her sore muscles and the steam helped clear her head. What had happened down there? Rose had suddenly found herself out of Natasha's grip and she had felt weightless as she had sprung from the mat.

Rose was so caught up in her small victory that even twenty minutes later, she hadn't realized something was missing.

As she lay down in bed, with a smile still plastered on her face, a sense of unease suddenly overcame her.

Then it hit her.

Her headache was gone and that funny electricity had replaced it.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Thank you again for reading! Remember, FF writers get paid in reviews so don't hesitate to drop one!**

 **You'll notice I expanded the time frame of CW a little bit - I needed time to develop Rose's character. If there are any serious holes in the plot line, please tell me. I want this to be accurate. I forgot to mention in my last a/n (I'll probably add it in later) that CACW happens ONE YEAR after Age of Ultron. This gives a lot of wiggle room for me to add in flashbacks and such.**

 **FYI: I plan to have Rose meet Peter (aka Spiderman soon - I know the summary says OCxPeterParker!)**

 **I really want to let you get to know Rose and what is happening first.**

 **Again, thank you for reading and have a great day!**

 **\- Stella**


	3. Chapter 3: Aim, Fire

"If something doesn't _happen_ soon, I'm gonna wack out."

"You are being ridiculous, Rose. Tony has only been gone for an hour," said Natasha.

She was sitting in one of the living room chairs, idly reading the newspaper on her tablet.

Rose was pacing and attempting to juggle oranges at the same time.

Natasha had been coming up with evermore complex exercises to improve her coordination and reaction time. Juggling was certainly not on the list of things Rose should have pursued to learn in life. Frankly with how stressed she was it didn't seem like she would ever get good at it.

Her headache had returned in full force the morning after her spar with Natasha. She had taken two painkillers and drank almost a gallon of water before the pain had begun to subside.

Almost a week later, her condition had not improved and Natasha had been able to pin her every single time. Rose's now deemed 'lucky' escape hadn't stuck with her; she was very much learning the hard way.

Rose wasn't sure why she hadn't told anyone about her headaches. It just hadn't seemed important. But now her head felt like it was splitting in two.

That morning Rose had finally decided to bring it up to Tony only to find him missing from the premises and Nat eating breakfast and throwing oranges at her.

Rose kept pacing.

"You really need to stop doing that," Natasha commented. "You're going to run into something and break your neck."

"My awareness of my surroundings has improved," said Rose, immediately on the defensive.

"Rose. You ran into a table yesterday and knocked over an entire rack of chemicals." Natasha raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to retaliate.

Rose glared at her which broke her concentration and caused her to drop the oranges and then throw her arms up in annoyance.

"I have got to be the most useless kid in the universe! How in the hell am I going to not die in a fight?" Rose said exasperatedly.

"You have got to be kidding me." Natasha rolled her eyes. "Says the girl who graduated at sixteen and can stitch up a bullet wound in three minutes flat.

In all honesty Rose, you're more of a healer and a peace keeper. I just think every woman needs to know how to fight. Not an insane amount - just enough to stay and feel safe. You want that, don't you?"

Rose scrunched up her face. She hated when people were logical. She couldn't argue then.

"Yes. I get what you're saying."

Rose tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I want to be great, you know? Tony is the most amazing man I've ever known. He is smart, talented, and is trying to fight for what he believes is right. He can be a total asshole at times, but I want to be a daughter he'll be proud of and want to design things with."

Rose had started opening up to Natasha lately, more than she thought she was ready for. It just felt nice to speak her mind, even if it was to someone older and who had much bigger problems. She guessed she was selfish like that.

Natasha gave her a kind smile. "All of that comes with time, Rose. He hasn't had much time with you to begin with, and it will be a while longer until he opens up to you. The opportunity for that may be sooner than you think."

* * *

Natasha handed Rose another pistol. This one was a tad heavier than the ones she had been using previously and Rose could guess it had a stronger kickback as well. She placed her feet a little more than shoulder width apart and aimed at the target directly in front of her.

The training room was soon loud with the sound of gunshots and the satisfactory 'bang' of the bullets hitting the target. Rose changed her stance often, sometimes shooting with her body perpendicular to the target and other times facing it. She crouched and fired, a sweet sense of satisfaction filling her as she hit somewhere critical.

Rose went into what Natasha called a 'battle daze' and was oblivious to everything except her mission: the target. She took on a beautiful rhythm of load, aim, fire, repeat.

Rose was very happy with her performance with her right hand; Natasha could tell as much.

"Switch hands, Rose!" called Natasha.

Rose obliged, her transition seamless as she repositioned her arms and stance. Her shots were more haphazard but they still hit the targets every time. Rose continued this exercise for half and hour more, her stance ever changing and her shots as creative as they were deadly.

Natasha joined her for the last ten minutes, occasionally stepping over to Rose to fix her hold on the gun or to nudge one of her feet into a better position.

Natasha signaled for them to stop when Rose had missed three shots due to fatigue. It had been a long morning.

Rose made her way to a bench against the wall, unloading her gun and proceeded to clean it with a worn rag. Natasha sat down next to her, her own gun placed on the table in front of them.

"You have real talent with a gun. I'd bet my money on you in a fight any day if you had a pistol of sorts. You stand a real chance if you can keep enemies at a distance."

Natasha was giving Rose one of those rare smiles she gave to people who had actively kicked some serious butt.

Rose couldn't help a small smile touch her lips with Natasha's complement. Which quickly disappeared upon hearing her next statement:

"We'll need to get started on knives soon. And don't give me that face. I know you hate them. And I don't think it's because you are bad with them. I think you are afraid of them. They seem to be a taboo for you. Do you have a reason for that?" Natasha asked.

"No." Rose said, a little too sharply.

Natasha raised a slender brow, her head cocked to the side and a knowing look on her face. "I think you do. We will get started right after you eat some lunch or maybe before. I have to remember not to work you too hard. However. . . to make you more comfortable with sharp objects I'm going to give you a knife and you're going to carry it around for the rest of the day. Okay?"

Rose followed Natasha over to the Wall o' Weapons as Clint called it. She was promptly handed a knife as long as her forearm.

"Nat, this is huge!" Rose said indignantly.

"I'm going to accidentally sever an artery walking up the stairs!"

"No you won't. I won't make you carry around a naked blade. Here's the sheath." Natasha dropped an unmarked leather sheath on a nearby table. With a demeanor of pure casualness she slid the knife into it. She turned and grabbed a belt from the rack and walked up to Rose.

Rose unceremoniously raised her arms from her hips, knowing it was far too late to come up with and deliver a valid argument. Natasha slid the black leather through her jean's waistband hoops and tightened the buckle in the front. Rose had a sudden thought that almost made her giggle: it was like Natasha was playing dress-up death Barbie.

Natasha laced the sheath onto Rose's left side, "So you can pull it out with your right hand," and it hung about midway down her thigh.

"I want you to remove the knife every ten minutes. Do so now," Natasha said.

Rose tentatively pulled the knife from its sheath, careful to have her left hand out of the way. The weapon was perfectly balanced and while deadly, felt quite comfortable in her hand. Now she just had to worry about not falling on top of it. She held it for a few seconds longer, trying to get a better sense of its weight and balance. When she replaced it slowly back into the sheath she couldn't help but let out a little relieved huff.

"I'll do it. But I won't like it." Rose said.

"I'm not asking you to like it," Natasha said. "I'm telling you to suck it up and get used to it. One day that knife will feel like an extension of your arm. Now go feed yourself."

Rose realized she was actually starving and without further instruction from Natasha, made her way to the elevator. She felt bad as soon as the doors slid closed. She really needed to treat Natasha better. While she had been demanding, she had been nothing but helpful.

She tapped her knuckles against her thigh, running an apology through her head to deliver to Natasha later. Rose watched the illuminated numbers tick up slowly as she headed towards the second floor. A soft ding indicated her arrival.

The doors slid silently open.

Rose looked down from the illuminated number two and began to make her way forward, only to find the doorway blocked by a boy she didn't know and a grinning Tony Stark.

* * *

Rose stumbled to an abrupt stop, her eyebrows furrowing together and her gaze immediately turning towards Tony.

"Where have you been, Tony?" Rose asked, her suspicions now confirmed that he had been, in fact, looking for someone. She just wanted to hear him say it.

"Oh, what Rosie? No 'welcome home Tony'! No 'great to see you alive in one piece'!" Tony said with mock accusation.

"I'll celebrate when you explain why you have been gone for five hours." Rose turned to the boy, slightly annoyed to see that he was a good eight inches taller than her. Damn her height.

"Might I ask who you are?" Rose asked him, noting his brown eyes. She liked brown eyes. Wait, what?

They boy extended a hand and Rose shook it. "I'm Peter Parker. Mr. Stark brought me here to work with him on. . . stuff." Peter said, somewhat awkwardly.

"O-K, story time's over, kids!" interjected Tony. "Sp -, I mean Parker and I have to get down to the lab to get some work done."

Tony glanced at Rose. "Natasha isn't down there shooting things right now, is she?"

"At the moment, no." Rose looked back at the boy, Peter. "My name is Rose, by the way. I'm Tony's daughter."

It was kind of funny to see Peter's brown eyes widen at that. Rose gave him a little smile and pulled away from the handshake that had just turned into her awkwardly holding his hand for way too long. How embarrassing.

"Oh okay. It's nice to meet you, Rose. Do you live here?" Peter said somewhat eagerly.

"At the moment. I was just - " Rose began, only to be interrupted by Tony.

"Alright. Rose, we really need to get to work. I don't know if Natasha has told you, but we have to go to Germany asap. We've had a lead on the Cap. and his cyborg friend," said Tony. "And enough with the googly eyes."

"I didn't know 'googly' was in your vocabulary, Tony." Rose said, hoping her cheeks hadn't turned pink. Peter was kind of cute. Even with that stupid pizza shirt he was wearing. "And why the hell are you going to Germany?"

"You'd be surprised what words have been added recently. Now we gotta get a move on. So scram." Tony finished bluntly, shuffling Rose out of the elevator and himself and Peter in. He had still avoided her second question. She would just ask Natasha.

"I'll see you later then," Peter said with a smile.

Rose stood there smiling back just in time to hear a "you certainly will not" from Tony as the elevator doors slid closed.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Woo, there. I went and done it. Peter and Rose have just met - let the tension begin!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and tuning into my story. Please feel free to drop a comment and ask any questions/give suggestions. I'm also considering doing some chapters from Peter's POV. Please tell me what you think!**

 **Again, thanks for reading and have a great day!**

 **\- Stella**


	4. Chapter 4: Meet, Greet, and Attack

Rose had never been the jealous type.

Mostly because there had never been anything for her to be jealous of. Not until Peter and Tony.

She sat at the kitchen table, trying not to sigh in annoyance. She spun the knife, _her knife_ , on the table, admiring its perfect balance and flawless edge. Her comfort with it now derived from the fact that it allowed her to reach so much further. Her short arms were not advantageous.

She glanced up at the clock. 10:26.

Peter would be getting here soon. Rose wished she could say the little jump in her stomach wasn't caused by that thought. Of course not.

* * *

Rose had tried to follow them down to the lab. Ask Tony what was going on and why suddenly he had basically adopted a son. Weed some information out of Peter. But _no_. She needed to 'stop being so nosy and go practice with Natasha or something'.

Rose had left grudgingly, not being able to see what was going on in the room from the glass wall. She was practically pulling her hair out, trying to find out who this kid was. And it certainly didn't help that he was extremely cute and too shy to really engage in a conversation with her.

She hadn't been able to catch him leaving the first day, and had had only a minute with him upon entering the building on the second. Tony had come and snatched him up right as he walked through the door. Typical.

Rose asked Natasha as innocently as she could if she could go and figure out what Tony was doing. To her absolute shock, Natasha had agreed.

Natasha was down there for two whole hours and Rose was sure she was going to wear a hole in the floor from her pacing. Natasha had finally come up the elevator, to Rose's surprise, slightly winded and pink in the face.

"What happened to you?" Rose asked.

Natasha answered with a smile. "You would not believe what that boy can _do_ , Rose."

"Oh, I'm sure I could." Rose countered. "So what is it? Laser vision? Flying? Super strength? Bad jokes? And why are you sweating?"

"Partially all of those things." Natasha furrowed her brow for a second. "Minus the laser vision. And I was working with him."

Rose looked dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Who is this kid?!" she exclaimed, now both confused and impressed.

"Peter Parker," she answered simply. "By the way, you are going to hate this, but I can't tell you anything. Tony only didn't kick me out because I'm _me_. He has made it very clear you are not going to Germany under any circumstances and Peter's . . . skill set is imperative, Tony believes, to the mission. At this point we need numbers. Cap. has gotten an impressive team together. We have to do the same."

Rose threw her hands up. Which had unfortunately become a habit lately.

"So I'm stuck here, knowing nothing, while you all traipse of to Germany for a confrontation that might kill you with a boy my age and an a psycho government watching your every move?!"

"That seems about right," Natasha said calmly.

"But I am too precious to say anything to? Am I too weak to handle the pressure?" Rose was practically shouting now. "Am I not strong enough, am I smart in all the wrong ways? Am I too goddamned normal?!"

Rose headache suddenly exploded, hitting her with full force, making her close her eyes and flinch in pain.

Natasha reached out, instantly concerned for the girl's health and wellbeing. Something wasn't right.

Natasha stepped closer to her, lightly grabbing Rose's shoulders, looking her in the eye.

"Are you alright, Rose? Why are you in pain?"

This question suddenly made Rose look very tired, her face rapidly relaxing and her eyes growing heavy.

"My head . . . It's been hurting for days. I can't think straight. I'm sorry, Nat." Rose said quietly.

Natasha's face was full of concern, her mouth turned into a slight frown. "Why haven't you said anything?"

She received only a slight shrug from Rose, who was looking paler by the second.

"We will get you to a doctor soon. Go lay down."

Rose did not end up lying down. She stayed up at the kitchen table, waiting for Peter to come out of the elevator so she could question him. She ended up falling asleep there, her head on the table and the knife in her lap.

* * *

She had woken up in her bed, her clothes still on from the night before and her hair plastered to her face. Rose guessed Nat had put her in bed. Or maybe Tony.

She had had another nightmare. Not the door this time, but falling. She had fallen for what seemed like hours, a scream only escaping her lips when she hit the ground and woke up. The most terrifying thing, however, was the fact that her body felt the pain for a second after waking, as if she really had shattered every bone in her body on impact. For about five minutes she felt the strange tingling in her head until the headache returned in full force, nearly making her black out.

Rose had taken a cold shower, trying to massage her temples and ease the pain. She had stepped out, now cold and for the first time in a while, felt afraid.

Rose dressed slowly. She chose jeans and a white t-shirt. She stood in front of the mirror, her cheeks still pink from the frigid water.

Rose had a heart shaped face, framed by long, dark wavy hair. She got her hair color from Tony, she was sure. Her mother must have been quite beautiful. Rose's lashes were long and her lips were full. Her green eyes were somewhat dull due to her tired state; they could be bright when she smiled, dimples and all. A spattering of freckles dotted her cheeks and small nose, a contrast to her fair skin.

Rose had always liked her body and face. But for the first time in a long while she wondered what others thought about them. She wondered what Peter thought of her. The thought of him looking at her in that way made her blush. Rose had had a few relationships before, but nothing ever serious. She could tell Peter was smart right off the cuff; it was unlikely Tony would work with anyone who wasn't reasonably intelligent.

 _Get yourself together, Rosalyn. You can't be getting distracted by the hot mystery_. Crap.

Rose threw her damp hair up into a messy bun, too lazy to blow dry it. Her head was starting to hurt again so she grabbed two painkillers and downed a glass of water. She made her way to the kitchen, humming tunelessly and preparing to wait until Peter arrived to confront him.

* * *

Light danced off the spinning blade, and Rose's mind was becoming quite blank watching it. She went into a daze, thinking of nothing, really. Just occasionally Tony, Steve, Nat, and Peter. So when she heard a 'hello' behind her, she nearly cut her hand in half.

Rose visibly jumped and turned around with the knife's hilt in hand, only to find a flustered looking Peter with his hands up in defense.

"I didn't mean to startle you. The door was already opened. I don't think you heard me knocking," he said, eyeing the blade in her hand.

Rose hurried to sheath it, feeling foolish.

"I'm sorry. I was just zoning out. Do you, um, need something?" _Real smooth_ , she thought.

"Ah, not really. I was just heading down to the lab to see Tony. Would you . . . would you like to walk with me?" He looked at her, his face unsure and, Rose felt a thrill run through her when she noticed, also a little red.

"Of course!" she said, a bit too eager. "I'm technically not allowed in, but I can walk with you down there."

"Oh, yeah. Tony said something about that," Peter said, absentmindedly running his hand through his brown hair.

Rose looked at him expectantly, wondering if he was going to elaborate. She was disappointed.

"Well he can ban me from a room, but he can't ban me from talking. So you're going to Germany, then?" she asked.

"Um, yes. I believe so, yes." Peter said, eyeing her as the walked side by side down the hall towards the elevator.

"Hmm. I know you can't say anything about what you are going to do there, although I can guess, but might I ask what you are designing with Tony?" Rose tried to put on an innocent face when she glanced over at him.

Peter bit his lip slightly and took on an adorable concentrating face. Rose decided it might be her new favorite thinking face she had ever seen on another human being. His brow was slightly creased and he was looking down, contemplating his sneakers.

"We are working on a, um, suit for me." Peter raised his brown eyes to her green ones, nonverbally pleading with her not to ask any more questions about it.

But Peter didn't quite know Rose yet. She went with what she hoped was an answerable question next: "What color is it?"

Peter got that cute confused look again and hesitated only a second before answering. "Uh blue and red, I think."

Rose looked him up and down. "I can see it."

Peter gave her a small smile. "Thanks, I guess." He looked down at his feet again.

Rose realized they had made it to the elevator. She reached out a hand to press the down button only to find Peter's hand already pressing it. She blushed lightly as she accidentally brushed his hand, mumbling an apology.

They both stepped in the elevator, an uncomfortable silence between them.

Peter was the one to eventually break their short silence. "So you're Tony's daughter?"

Rose smiled slightly, turning towards him. "Yeah. Can you tell?"

She looked at his brown eyes, and her stomach jumped when he narrowed them slightly and looked at her face. His eyes traveled from the top of her head down to her feet.

He swallowed, and Rose felt like banging her head against the nearest wall.

"I can see it," he said with a hint of teasing, a smile on his face and his eyes quite bright.

Rose smiled at him in return; dimples forming on her slightly pink cheeks. She was looking at him too long again, dammit. Rose's thoughts that were quickly moving out of the PG-zone were interrupted by the soft 'ding' of the elevator.

They both exited, Peter letting her get off first. They walked the short distance to the laboratory door, Rose noting all the while Peter was standing a little closer than necessary. Just a little. But enough to make her heart flutter.

He opened the door, his mouth opening as he was about to say a goodbye, only to be interrupted by a rambunctious Tony.

"Underoos! I was just going up to fetch you myself. And what do we have here? Decided to tag along, Rosie?" Tony was walking towards them from across the lab, a mug of coffee one hand and some short of tablet in his left. He had a pen behind is ear and was, surprisingly, not glaring at Rose for being there.

Rosa allowed herself a sideways glance at Peter, a look that was clearly questioning the 'underoos' comment. A look that he carefully avoided.

"I was just walking Peter down. I nearly stabbed him accidentally so I figured it was my duty to ensure he lived on his way down here," she said to Tony, enjoying the raised eyebrow she got in response to that statement.

"He probably could have dodged it but we'll never know, will we," Tony said nonchalantly. Rose looked at Peter again, wondering how fast he would have to move to avoid a twelve-inch blade coming at his face. Pretty fast.

"Anyways, Rosie, I'm going to need you to scadaddle. We have work to do." Tony set the tablet down and was opening several files, already beginning to prepare. Tony looked at her when she hadn't moved.

"You don't get to stay this time, Rose. Maybe for final testing if you're a good girl."

He was mocking her. She sent a rather ugly look his way and wondered what she could do to ensure he regretted that comment. Nothing came to mind but to stomp off like a hormonal teenager.

Just as she was staring to do this, Tony called her name again. Rose turned, watching him expectantly as he walked over to a table full of foul looking chemicals.

"Before you go pout in your room, Natasha told me your head has been exploding lately. Luckily, I have a wonderful batch of homemade headache-away medicine already made up." Tony filled a small vial up with a milky-blue substance and beckoned her over.

Rose instantly perked up; she would swallow a brick if it meant ridding of this headache. She was also touched that Tony had thought to make something to help her.

She walked over the table and took the vial from Tony, very conscious of the fact that Peter was watching her.

"Do I just down it in one gulp?" She asked Tony.

"I suppose you could sip it like tea, but I wouldn't recommend it," he said.

Rose made a face and plugged her nose, throwing back the vial and drinking the contents. She let go of her nose only to be overcome by a fit of coughing and gagging.

"What the hell is that, liquefied death?!" Rose coughed, the liquid still searing the inside of her throat and making her mouth taste like something that had been recently killed and put into a blender.

Tony unhelpfully clapped her on the back, making her small frame seize even more.

"I know it's disgusting, but your head should be feeling marvelous in a few minutes. If not . . . we'll have to get that checked out. Now scram!" Tony shuffled her out the door, her breathing still spastic and her head hurting no less.

Rose was able to get one more glance at Peter through her watery eyes and the boy, goddamn him, was smirking.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Tom Holland is my baby.**

 **So I was doing some more research (#smart) and realized Peter is supposed to be 15 in Spiderman: Homecoming. In this story Rose is 17 and I was just like oops. Ok. And oh freaking well.**

 **I'm changing him to be 17 - I feel like he would be a junior in HS anyways. Plus I don't want an awkward age difference so just roll with me. If this is too annoying I can change some things, but I like to think of him as a little older.**

 **Please Review and thank you for reading!**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **Thank you so much to those who have reviewed so far:**

 **RoniMikaelson: Thank you for your kind words and uplifting review! Making Tony have kid has its difficulties. Thank you for supporting me :)**

 **RoxanneRay: I hope you weren't disappointed this chapter and I'm glad you can see them together! Thanks!**

 **NightmareHunter676: So do I ;)**

 **Sabina Mohammed: Thank you! I hope you enjoy what is to come!**


	5. Chapter 5: Suit Up

Rose wasn't dying to be normal.

She was dying to be different. Peter was in the lab with Tony, designing a brilliant suit that would enhance his powers. Because he was so miraculously _different_ he was able to spend time with her father. To learn from him, to assist him, to bond with him. Things Rose had never had a chance to do before.

It didn't help that he was so darned likable. He always smiled when she came to talk with him and while he was careful not to reveal any plans to her, he tried to be helpful and explain what he could.

But to Rose's immense frustration, he wouldn't tell her what his powers were. Peter had been coming to the facility for four days now, and today would be his fifth. The prospect of them leaving for Germany was getting closer; Tony said they'd be leaving in three days. Three days were what Rose had to figure out what Peter could do and convince Tony to let her design.

* * *

Rose was in her room, throwing a tennis ball against the wall, catching it with her left hand as it flew back at her. She was happy to say that if anyone ever attacked her with tennis balls she would make it out alive. Natasha was gone for the day, doing lord knows what, and Rose was waiting patiently for 11 o'clock to roll around so she could harass Peter.

Not much had happened between them since their last awkward conversation down to the lab. He had watched her nearly choke to death and, if anything, seemed more distant around her the next day.

The 'thunk' of the tennis ball hitting the wall became a comforting rhythm, and Rose was incredibly startled when she heard a knock at her door. She scrambled to her feet, the tennis ball forgotten as it rolled slowly across her room.

She opened the door much too eagerly, only to find Tony standing there. Her disappointment must have shown, because Tony raised an eyebrow at her and made a face. "Is that the face you normally greet people with? If so it is now quite clear to me why you don't have any friends."

Rose huffed and moved aside to let him in, knowing he wouldn't come up here just to chitchat at her door. Tony walked over to her bed and sat down, fiddling with a tablet in his lap. Rose went and sat down next to him, casually peering over to see what he was doing.

"Am I allowed to ask -" Rose began.

"Nope." Tony interjected. "You are going to sit quietly or else I might change my mind." He clicked through a few technical drawings, found the one he was looking for, stood up, and placed the tablet on the ground. He tapped the edge with his finger, and a hologram sprung up from the tablet.

Full sized before her, a masterpiece of design and engineering, was a suit. Rose rose from her seat on the bed and walked towards the hologram. With a glance at Tony, who gave her a slight nod, she flicked her hand to the side near the hologram and it began to spin slowly.

It was amazing. Exactly Peter's height, the skintight suit was designed for rapid movement and elasticity; he would have no trouble running or jumping in it. Rose removed the first layer of the hologram with a downward swish of her hand, observing the intertwined fibers of the fabric and the carefully sewn in minuscule, metallic wires for stability and support.

"This is phenomenal, Tony." Rose continued looking at its shape, noting the small built-in belt at the waist, and the form fitting boots connecting to the fabric-sectioned legs.

Tony went back over to the hologram and pressed another button. Rose watched as both red and blue coloring blossomed over the suit. What intrigued her, however, was the spiderweb design that covered the unique mask and chest, traveling down both the arms and to the belt. A small spider, hexagonal in shape was in the middle of the chest. The eyes of the mask were triangular, white with black borders.

"Tony," Rose began wearily. "Am I allowed to finally ask what Peter can do?"

Tony now leaned against her dresser, his arms crossed. "Peter is and has deemed himself as 'Spiderman'. He has been fighting crime in New York for almost a year now, swinging around the city in his own homemade costume."

"Really?" Rose said. "Isn't he supposed to be an urban legend? And can he really shoot webs out of his hands? Can he climb walls? Does he have -"

"Hush, Rose. You can ask him when he gets here. I told him yesterday I would be letting you make some finishing touches on the suit; he had been wearing the unmarked prototype for only a couple of hours yesterday." Tony looked at the still rotating hologram of Peter's suit, deep in thought.

"Oh!" Rose said suddenly, a wide grin on her face. She looked at the suit, remembering Tony's comment the other day. "I see why you call him 'underoos' now."

She couldn't suppress a giggle; Rose imagined the suit would be _quite_ form-fitting on Peter. She couldn't wait to see that. Tony had a smirk on his face now. "Try not to enjoy it too much, Rosie. I might ban you from seeing Spidey."

Rose rolled her eyes, already thinking about how she could improve the design. Tony spoke up behind her as she began to fiddle with the hologram again.

"Is your headache gone now?" His voice had shifted from mocking to concerned now.

Rose flinched at the mental reminder, a movement that Tony did not fail to notice.

"Rosalyn. You need to take care of yourself. We need to get you to a doctor soon if it's not getting any better. Week long headaches are not up the 'okay' alley."

Rose refused to look at him, desperately wanting him to drop it and let her deal with it alone. She didn't like the thought of other people poking around her head to see what was wrong.

"The medicine you gave me yesterday helped for a little while. It tasted horrible, but can I just take a dosage to survive until this is finished? I don't want to miss out on this." Rose pleaded.

Tony considered her, unsure about how much pain she was really in and wondering if she should even wait another day.

"You are nearly an adult Rose. That means absolutely nothing, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt." Tony retrieved the tablet from the ground. Her motioned to her door with his head, and Rose followed him out.

* * *

Rose tapped her boot against the table, impatient for Tony to return. She was sitting at one of the desks in the training room. It sat in the corner where a few designing tools had been moved from the lab.

Tony explained that the prototype was complete and they just needed to observe Peter doing whatever it was he did and make improvements along the way.

The sound of footsteps and laughter coming from the stairs made her perk up instantly. The fun was about to begin.

Rose attempted to assume a casual pose in her chair. She was sure she was failing due to the fact that her feet didn't touch the ground. The table was elevated and, for normal mortals above five feet, a comfortable height. She placed her left arm over the seat back, her legs crossed and body turned slightly towards the door.

Tony was the first to enter, looking particularly crisp in a sharp suit. Apparently he would not be engaging in any physical activities in the finalization of Peter's suit. Rose looked down at her outfit for a second, realizing workout gear might have been a smarter move than skintight jeans tucked into boots and a patterned blouse. Whoops, there. She could always change if Peter needed practice fighting. The thought caused a thrill to run through her.

Peter walked in right after, already wearing the light grey, prototype version of his suit. Rose had to make a serious effort to look at his face, which was unmasked, and only his face. Nowhere else was safe.

His chest and arms were much more pronounced than she thought they would be. Rose also remembered from looking at the computer generated suit that it hadn't had any built in padding. She shifted slightly in her seat, the pink in her cheeks hopefully not as prominent as she thought they were.

Peter's face brightened when he saw her across the room, a grin lighting up his features. He gave a wave, and Rose hopped down from her seat to head over to them, a tablet clasped in her right hand and a pen behind her ear, a habit she had developed from Tony.

"Hey," Peter said when she walked up to meet him. "I'm sorry and glad that I can finally tell you about, well . . . me."

"Hi Peter. I'm happy too - I will definitely need the whole explanation, because Tony wanted to leave it to you to tell me what you wanted to." Rose glanced in Tony's direction, but he was already moving away from them.

Peter ran his hand through his hair once, glancing at Tony's receding figure, which was headed towards the door at the other end of the room.

"What, um, would you like to know?" He looked at her intently. He seemed a little excited.

"What can you do, Peter? I've heard vague details, but I certainly don't know any hard facts.

It was becoming extremely difficult not to look at his perfect physique; he was fiddling with something on his wrist, which she hoped had been a good enough excuse to glance down for a second.

"It would be easier just to show you," he said.

To Rose's mild surprise, he quickly put on his mask and dropped into a crouch. She watched in amazement as he shot something from his wrist directly upwards at the high ceiling, jerking his body away from the ground. He flew upward and landed, upside down, on the ceiling with his feet and hands planted above him.

He looked down at her, the white openings of his mask growing smaller as he focused in on her. Rose let out a laugh, and watched with awe as he climbed around the ceiling, only to let go and shoot out another of what Rose realized were webs onto a low hanging pole running lengthways across the ceiling. He swung across the room, letting out a jubilant shout as he swung around the room.

He really was flying, Rose thought.

The room was large and Peter had plenty of space to incorporate flips and dramatic swoops in the air as he flew from wall to wall. Rose went to stand in the middle of the room, her tablet and pencil forgotten in her hands. She watched him spring from the left wall onto the ceiling again, almost directly above her.

To her astonishment, he began to lower himself, upside down towards her. Rose stepped back hurriedly. His upside down face grew level with hers, and he turned his head slightly as his mask's eyes widened and focused on her. He was less than a foot away, and the hilarity of his position was overshadowed by the fact that he was so close to her.

Rose took a small step forward, turned her own head to match the angle of Peter's. "You are amazing, Peter," she said. It came out a little quieter than she had intended, heightening the intimacy of the situation. Even though he was masked, Rose was conscious of the fact that they were closer than they had ever been before.

Rose cleared her throat and began writing down the notes she had previously thought of before her mind went blank.

Peter let go and gracefully flipped into a standing position, now standing much taller than her.

"Thanks," Peter said, his hand reaching up to remove his mask. Rose bit her lip and gave him a small smile. He had what looked like bed hair now. But good looking bed hair.

"It honestly looks like you are quite comfortable with the suit. Is there any burning alterations you would like?" Rose was honestly at a loss of what to do; Tony had all but perfected the suit already.

"Not really," Peter admitted. "It is a little, erm, tight. But I guess that comes with the job description so I'm not going to fight it. The only suggestion I have would be to make the soles of the shoes a little rougher for better grip."

Rose nodded, writing down his request next to her hastily written comments. "Quick question. Are you the one sticking to stuff, or is that the suit?"

A crooked grin appeared on Peter's face. "Nope. This sticking is all me. I could climb up walls in my normal clothes any day. The webs, however, I designed."

"Really?" Rose said. She put the pencil behind her ear again and placed the tablet on a nearby table. "May I?" She asked, gesturing towards the cleverly engineered devices on his wrists.

Peter nodded. "Of course." He held out his left wrist to her, and she gently grabbed his arm and hand. Rose brought his wrist up close to her face, observing the black band built into the suit. The contraption had a small silver button near the top, which the band continued around and across the palm of his hand.

She looked at him, about to ask her what the silver button did. However, before she could, Tony walked back in, wheeling in some sort of machine in from the lab.

"Getting to know each other are we, my young geniuses?" Tony rolled the machine up next to them, which Rose realized was an espresso maker.

"Peter was just demonstrating some of his skills. I was asking about his web shooting devices. And why the hell did you bring a espresso machine down here?"

Tony pet the coffee maker affectionately. "Because we didn't have one. Thought it was necessary. Plus I didn't want to interrupt your bonding time. Any improvements come to mind?"

"Peter says the soles of his shoes need more grip. I think some of the titanium wires need to be removed from his arms or at least thinned: they are limiting his movement somewhat," Rose said. She couldn't really think of anything else at the moment. The suit was nearly perfect.

"We can do that. Also I want you to look at his web devices." He looked at Peter. "Second opinions can be helpful."

* * *

Rose was giddy with excitement. She and Peter sat side by side, him explaining how the devices on his wrists worked and the hand motion necessary to activate them. Rose was dying to ask him to let her try it, but she didn't want to mess anything up.

The silver button she had wondered about before, when pressed, popped up to reveal a small vial of webbing. This was replaced when he needed more, hence the small pockets on his belt.

Rose worked for several hours more with him, learning about his Aunt May and his time at school. He liked to talk about trivial things; he avoided how he had gotten his powers and what had happened to his parents, whom he never brought up. Rose didn't pry.

As the morning turned into the evening and his suit was nearly complete, Rose's eyes became heavy and her headache, which had mercifully been mild that day, began to return.

She walked him to the door when he needed to get home; Aunt May would believe he was working on a science project only for so long.

"I had an awesome day working with you today Peter. Maybe tomorrow we can fight," Rose said cheerfully.

"You're joking, right?" He looked at her skeptically, amusement touching the corners of his eyes.

"I do not joke, Spiderman." Rose opened the door, feeling the chill of the night air bite her arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rose." He waved goodbye as he made his way down the facility steps.

You sure as hell will, Peter Parker. Rose fell asleep with a smile on her face that night, her thoughts only of Peter Parker.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **"Honey? Where is my super suit?"**

 **Thank you again for reading! Please feel free to drop a review and tell me what you think. I am amazed - 23 followers! You have no idea how this feels as a writer; I'm glad to see my work being appreciated!**

 **Please comment any interactions you would like to see between Rose/Peter/Tony or anyone else. As for the headaches Rose has been getting. . . Vision will shed some light on the subject within the next chapter.**

 **Again, thank you!**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **Thank you to all those who have taken the time to review:**

 **Madgirl014: I tend to be a fast worker ;) And thank you!**

 **PrettyPrincess: (nice anon name btw) Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!**


	6. Chapter 6: Of the Mind

Rose was wandering through a forest at twilight, her boots making soft sounds on the lonely path. The sky right before sunset, burning with its purples and reds, fiery oranges and faded pinks, was only slightly visible through the thick canopy above her.

She walked onward, devoid of thought and awareness. Continuing deeper into the green, she smiled at a memory she had once forgotten.

* * *

Rose awoke to the sound of thunder. Her head shot up upon hearing the resounding crash, her hand already reaching out to grip her knife. She rested her back against the headboard waiting for her heartbeat to slow and the soft sound of rain outside the window calm her.

She still held onto the knife, her hand now sore from gripping it so hard. She unfurled her fingers from the leather hilt and placed it on her night stand. Her clock read 4:39. It was early.

Rose tried to remember what she had dreamed about. It must have been pleasant because she only ever remembered the terrible ones. Rose let out a yawn, her hands rubbing small circles on her temple, trying to ease her mind and already present headache. Tony would insist she saw a doctor today. She very badly wanted to preform a self-examination, but she knew Tony would not trust her own analysis of herself.

She hopped there wasn't something wrong with her physical brain tissue. Rose hadn't been particularly interested in Neuroscience in college. She was regretting her disinterest now. Knowledge like that would have come in handy with her current predicament.

Rose tossed and turned for three hours more, knowing that her attempts to fall back asleep were futile. She showered and dressed, paying close attention to her appearance. She would most likely be fighting with Peter today and thus, sweating.

Rose did something she never did except for special occasions; she applied some mascara. She knew Peter wouldn't notice. Guys never noticed that sort of thing. To them, a girl with mascara just looked like she had slept eight hours instead of three. Go figure.

Rose almost went for the yoga pants but bailed. She would give the poor boy a heart attack. She instead went for running shorts and a tee. Rose was perfectly aware that most girls worked out in padded sports bras and skintight bottoms to be extra showy. But Rose was not about to descend to that level. She had serious work to do.

She took her usual seat at the kitchen table and proceeded to wait. The clock read 8:48.

Eleven couldn't come fast enough. She was so anxious to see Peter and start working, she didn't notice Vision enter the room.

"Hello, Ms. Stark."

Rose dropped her cereal spoon and turned towards Vision with a jump.

"I didn't see you there, Viz! I was, erm, eating." Rose said weakly. Like her Cheerios were that interesting.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark requested I retrieve you and escort you to Medical; he wishes to form an analysis of your condition as soon as possible. He is leaving within the next day," Vision summated.

"Okay," she said. Standing up to follow him. She dropped her dish in the sink and walked towards the elevator. She knew Vision didn't need to use it but he was being polite as always.

* * *

 ** _Vision_**

Something was off about the girl. Her vitals were all normal, but he was detecting readings akin to Wanda. This caused him to be concerned. Wanda had been gone for several days now and his attempts to find her had been unsuccessful. He had been in his room for much of the time since her disappearance and had not seen Rosalyn during that time.

Had Wanda used her abilities on the girl, perhaps leaving a lingering presence? It disturbed him.

She seemed in perfect health and no information he had gathered indicated foreign involvement. He would need to ask Tony Stark to allow him to do a full scan of her. He usually could note sickness and emotional imbalance of humans at a glance: his advanced sensory scanner had no trouble allowing him to diagnose others even before they showed signs of sickness. But not with Rose.

They walked down the hallway to the medical facility, and he detected nothing but a weak headache located near her brain's cerebellum. It was possibly impairing her movement and balance.

He opened the door and followed her into the spacious room, all the while wondering what was amiss.

* * *

 ** _Rose_**

Vision had been silent the whole walk down to Medical. This normally would not be a cause for concern as he was not a very vocal being, but she had expected him to diagnose her on the way there. She remembered when he had told Natasha she had a cold before she had so much as sneezed.

Rose didn't think she had anything really to worry about; her headache wasn't as bad today. They walked into Medical, Tony already fiddling with a holographic computer screen. One wall of the room was a window overlooking the grounds and edge of the forest.

Rose was only slightly surprised that they hadn't gone to the full-sized and staffed medical room in another part of the building. The Avengers, for the most part, stuck to their own section of the huge facility. Rose had been purposefully denied contact with any of SHIELD's agents that inhabited the building. She only new those she had been allowed to come in contact with, so ending up in the small medical room next to the training room was something she was grateful for.

Rose sat in the simple incline chair in the center of the room, looking out the window.

"So what is going to happen here, Tony?" Rose inquired. He was still busy at the screen and hadn't acknowledged her presence or Vision's yet.

"We are going to do a scan of your head. Your brain, specifically." Tony stopped what he was doing and turned to Rose. "Vision has analyzed your vitals and found you are in perfect health. Except for your head."

"That makes it sound like I'm insane," Rose grumbled.

"Who knows? You just might be," Tony said.

Rose have him a sarcastic smile with glaring eyes. "Let's just hope I didn't unknowingly have a stroke."

"That would not be possible Ms. Stark, as your movement and brain function remain operational," said Vision.

Rose had to fight not to roll her eyes. Wanda was not there to gently tell him she was being sarcastic.

She tapped her fingers on the armrest, her thoughts wandering back to Peter. She hoped he wouldn't be upset that she hadn't been there to meet him at the door. Rose was sure she had left it unlocked; she would hate it if he had to walk around to the main entrance to get in. She really wanted to work on the suit with him some more. The prototype was finalized and while she would most likely solely be on the defense if they fought. It would be a thrill nonetheless. She new he had fought with Natasha once already and was wondering how she would fare against his speed and strength.

If all else failed, she would get to be close to him. The thought made her smile and her heart leap.

Tony walked over to her and held a small device in front of her face. It beeped once and then a grid of blue enshrouded her vision. It surrounded her head and scanned for about a minute. When another beep indicated the device's completion, Tony removed the device from in front of her and went to plug it into a computer.

"This is a live connection to your brain activity," Tony said. A hologram of her mind appeared ten times its normal size in the middle of the room, all bright blues and sparks of yellow-orange to indicate signals.

"Fascinating," said Rose. She wanted badly to get up and observe the hologram, but Tony was already removing layers and making adjustments. He seemed to be looking for the source of discomfort.

"Stop." Vision was looking at the hologram intensely, now zoomed in and paused on her prefrontal cortex. He walked forward and pointed towards the back of it, where an unusual amount for activity was centered.

Tony's brow was furrowed. He glanced at Rose for a second and then proceed to zoom in on the spot Vision was pointing at. He removed another layer of signal.

And within the small sunspot of signal, was a stone.

* * *

"This," Vision began. "Is what appears to be part of an infinity stone."

He said it so simply, as if he was commenting on the weather. Rose's voice didn't seem to to be working, and neither did Tony's.

Placed in her brain, no larger than the tip of her pinkie, was a stone. It glowed a bright yellow, thin bands of energy lacing off of its surface.

She had so many questions that she was not capable of asking. How did she have a stone in her head? What was it spilling out into her brain?

 _What was happening to her?_

Her vision faded in and out, her eyes staring out the window but not really seeing anything. She slouched against the chair, her mind filled with only one thought:

 _She had an infinity stone in her body._

Tony was saying something. So was Natasha. Rose hadn't remembered seeing her walk in. It took a few moments to realize that they were now shouting. Rose continued to look outside. It was a nice day. Soft fluffy clouds danced across the blue sky; the green of the forest reached up and graced the heavens, free of fear.

* * *

 ** _Peter_**

Peter stood at the door, having just rang the doorbell for the third time. He couldn't see inside due to the tinted glass, and was worried that he would have to walk a mile around to the next entrance. He briefly considered climbing onto the wall and getting in through the door he had unlocked on the roof.

That was only for emergencies, he scolded himself. Peter was a little disappointed that Rose hadn't been there to greet him. He had begun to get used to her quirky, not to mention beautiful, self.

Peter was enamored with Rose; she was a genius like Tony and far kinder, though the sarcasm persisted. He wasn't very good with girls to begin with, and Rose was a whole new level of smart and pretty.

She'd said she would fight with him today. He didn't think that was a very good idea, but the thought of her pink faced and sweaty with a dimpled smile made him reconsider. It was kind of funny how short she was. Her personality made up for it though.

Just as Peter was beginning to wonder what moves she might use to fight him, the front door opened. Natasha Romanoff was standing there with a relatively emotionless expression.

"Tony is busy right now, so he wants you to head down to the lab and wait for him," she said bluntly.

"What about - " he began.

"Rose is indisposed currently," Natasha quipped. She seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Is she. . . Okay?" Asked Peter. Indisposed sounded bad. Had she gotten hurt somehow?

Natasha placed her hands on her hips and looked at him. "Something is wrong with her. Vision is checking up on her. Tony is not happy." Natasha did not elaborate and stepped aside to let him in.

Peter walked down the hall towards the elevator with Natasha, his hand running nervously through his hair. Something was wrong with Rose. She had seemed fine yesterday. They were leaving for Germany tomorrow, and he didn't want to spend his last day not knowing what had happened.

Natasha got off before him, most likely to go see Rose, and Peter reluctantly continued down.

* * *

 ** _Rose_**

"Has she said anything?" Natasha asked, glancing over at Rose's still form in the chair.

"No," Tony said. He was running through his computer files like a madman, looking for something, anything, that could help him figure out what was going on.

Vision stepped closer too her. "Now that we have located the stone's location I can sense it. Before I was getting a dull pulse from her, but now I was feel its location." Vision pointed to the spot just above her brow. "The stone resides here. What is so odd to me, however, is that I detect no evidence of past surgery that would indicate implantation."

"You mean to say that she has had that stone in her brain her whole life?" Natasha asked. She stepped closer to Rose, and placed her hand on her shoulder, rubbing comforting circles with her thumb.

Rose was only half aware of what was going on around her. She was processing all conversation, but nothing was making sense.

"Possibly. It could have been placed in recently, but it would not be by human hands." Vision looked at Tony. "Has she had any interaction with any other people outside of the Avengers lately?"

"No," Tony said again. He let out a frustrated huff and walked over to Rose.

"Everything with be okay, Rose. We'll find out what happened and we'll get that thing out of you." Rose was happy he was trying to comfort her. It was so un-Tony like that she almost smiled.

"I am not sure that is possible, Mr. Stark. It is located in her primary behavior and judgment receptor region. Removing it may cause permanent damage," Vision said.

Tony shot him a murderous look and Natasha continued to rub gentle circles on her arm.

"What I find the most curious of all. . ." Vision said, stepping in front of Rose. "Is that as a human, you should be dead. No mortal can survive prolonged contact with an infinity stone. Who was her mother?"

* * *

 **A/n**

 **And scene.**

 **Thank you so much for reading this mind blowing POV crazy chapter! I was on vacation for the past couple of days so sorry for the slow update.**

 **Rose's headache mystery had been revealed and we delve deeper into the possibilities of an infinity stone. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion for the story: I love feedback and anything you have to say is appreciated. Don't hesitate to ask questions!**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **Thank you to all those who have reviewed:**

 **Good Omens: I sure hope so :)**

 **Mun3litKnight: Oh, he is. He just hasn't acted on that spark he's noticed between the two of them. Tony is kind of out there right now and will be taking a greater interest in their relationship soon. ;)**

 **Witch of Scarlet: I'm so happy you are enjoying the story! I'm really working for that character preservation and am glad you think I've done a good job with Peter!**

 **Izaria: (pretty name btw) Thank you so much! I am super happy you like Rose and her character. She is fun to relate to, no? Thanks for reading and for your wonderful review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Amora

**_Natasha_**

"Tony. We have to leave."

Natasha placed her hands on the edge of the table, standing on the other side of the screen Tony was going half mad over. He did not respond but only continued his search for a woman he had bedded eighteen years ago.

"Tony Stark. We cannot afford to waste any more time. This is not something we can solve right away. Rosalyn, while I hate to say it, has to wait."

Natasha was furious; Tony had not slept since the discovery of the infinity stone and had refused to receive anyone but himself, Vision, and her into the room.

Rose was curled up on one of the beds, twitching in her sleep. The image of her brain was still floating in the center of the room, its streaks of orange and one nova of brightness a silent tribute to the stone that inhabited her mind.

Tony stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "Has to wait?" He said harshly.

"My daughter's _life_ has to wait? She has a goddamned alien artifact that is spewing lord knows _what_ into her brain and you want me to focus on leaving?" Tony's face was chiseled stone and unyielding eyes.

Natasha closed her eyes for a second and then slowly opened them to gaze at the enraged father before her.

"Rose is not in critical condition. And don't you dare try and say I don't care about her. The stone has not harmed her whatsoever besides a headache. She would want us to leave. And you know it."

Tony shook his head and went back to his screen.

Natasha held back a sigh and walked over to Rose, taking a seat on the edge of her improvised bed.

Rose was on her side, facing the window. She was still wearing a light shirt and running shorts, her bare feet resting against each other. Her dark hair had been removed from its ponytail and was flowing over her shoulders and neck, a thick spray of unruly curls against the blue bedsheets. Her hands rested over her heart, clutched tightly into fists.

Rose's eyes moved beneath their lids. Natasha wondered if she was dreaming. Her pouty lips were shut and her breathing was steady.

She did not look a girl who was dying.

* * *

Natasha made her way down the stairs, taking two at a time. Peter had now been alone in the lab for nearly five hours, probably raving mad. He had tried to see Rose an hour after he arrived, but was denied entrance by a livid Tony and apologetic Vision.

Natasha had made the executive decision to tell him what she believed she could: they had found a foreign object in Rose's mind. It sounded absolutely awful when said like that, but they didn't have any other choice. As she went down to the lab to tell him this, she reflected on how unprepared they were and how unstable Tony was now.

T'Challa and Rhodey had arrived nearly an hour ago and were sitting in the foyer, occasionally visited by Vision, planning their trip to Germany. They had to leave within the next twelve hours, or it would be too late.

Natasha punched the code into the door and stepped in, only to immediately dive for the ground to avoid the projectile of webbing that flew at her face.

"Peter!" Natasha yelled indignantly, getting to her feet.

"I'm so sorry Ms. Romanoff! I just, er, was startled is all. The devices are working better than ever!" Peter rambled.

Natasha glanced towards the ceiling and noted the boy was climbing upside down in his completed suit.

"It's fine, but save the antics and head shots for Germany," Natasha said.

"Are we leaving soon?" Peter called, dropping lightly to the floor and removing his mask.

"Yes. Whether it is with or without Tony." Natasha walked over to one of the tables, noticing the seemingly out of place espresso maker.

"Why wouldn't Mr. Stark be coming?" Peter met her at the table, fiddling with one of his web devices and a tiny screwdriver.

"Rose is. . . unwell." Was there really any good way to put that? Natasha wasn't even sure what was wrong with her and whether it could be classified as 'unwell'.

She let out a small sigh. Explaining things to Peter may be harder than she thought. "You know Vision, right?"

"Um, yes. Red dude with a laser forehead?" Peter said, a quizzical look forming on his face.

"Well a piece of his 'Laser forehead' as you called it appears to have found its way into Rose's brain." She watched Peter's face turn into an even more intense mask of confusion.

"She has a. . . Magic gem in her head?" Peter questioned.

Natasha fought a smile. "That is one way to put it, yes. She has a magic rock in her brain and we have no clue how it got there. Vision can sense it, but he said it is not a stone he is familiar with. He says it is emitting a frequency like Wanda's. Which makes no sense, as Wanda doesn't have an infinity stone in her. She was just exposed to one for a prolonged amount of time. The stone appears to have been there her whole life. Something has just activated it."

Peter blanched. "Is she alright? What is it doing to her?" He looked both confused and fearful.

Natasha let out another sign. "She is fine as of late. We don't know what is going to happen."

"So what is Mr. Stark trying to do about it? I haven't seen him at all today." Peter looked at Natasha expectantly.

"He is trying to find her mother," said Natasha.

Peter frowned. "Why? Rose said she never knew her mother."

"Because she was the only one who had care of Rosalyn, no matter how brief, before Tony. And something else is bothering Vision. As a mortal, Rose should be dead."

Peter's eyes grew wide. "Dead? Wait. Are you suggesting Rose isn't human?"

"No. Half human possibly. Tony only remembers her mother's first name. Rosalyn never actually received an authentic birth certificate." Natasha thought she had said too much. What could Peter possibly contribute? He deserved to know, but not this much.

"Is the stone releasing anything into her body?" Peter asked timidly.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. Had he just guessed that or did he know something?

* * *

 ** _Peter_**

Peter noticed her standoff demeanor. "It's just that, with me, it was the substance injected that. . . changed me." Peter hadn't told anyone except Tony about how he had gotten his powers. It felt wrong to tell Natasha, who he barely knew.

"I might be able to help if that is the case." He needed to seriously shut up now. It was probably blatantly obvious he was crushing on none other than Tony Stark's daughter.

But he sincerely believed he could help if Rosalyn was dealing with something unknown and foreign in her. He knew all about that. And about being alone to suffer through it.

Natasha crossed her arms. "Some sort of energy. It hasn't traveled below her neck; Tony isn't sure if that will remain the case. That is why he is trying to find her mother. He didn't really know her very well. She could've been. . ." Natasha didn't finish her statement. She didn't need to.

Peter nodded. He was sure the stone had something to do with Rose's mother. All the facts pointed towards it. Left young, unknown lady, mystery stone? The only other possibility was that she had been apprehended while away from Tony. Rose probably would have mentioned something like that to Tony though.

What had activated it though?

"Can I see her?" Peter asked.

"I don't know Peter. She's asleep now, and you should go do the same. We are leaving early in the morning. Have you come up with a plausible excuse for your Aunt?" Natasha said.

"Yes. Mr. Stark helpfully took care of that. So it's a definite 'No' then? About seeing Rose, I mean." Peter said.

Natasha looked at him a second longer, making up her mind. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. She's asleep anyways. Just get some normal clothes on. You're hurting my eyes."

* * *

 ** _Rose_**

She had another dream. Flying this time. No real distinct landscapes or views, just weightlessness.

When she opened her eyes again, she was staring out into the blackness of the night outside the window. She was not alone. Tony was still bustling around. Careful not to make a sound, she rolled her body onto its other side, to look into the room.

To her surprise, Peter was sitting in a barstool at one of the tables, fast asleep on his crossed arms. He was wearing a red hoodie, his hair messed up and face turned towards her. He looked so peaceful, Rose almost smiled. But didn't.

Rose wondered what he had to do to convince Tony to let him in. Natasha probably helped out, Rose guessed.

He shifted in his sleep, and to Rose's fright, blinked his eyes open. She hurried to shut hers, trying to force her body to relax.

She heard him shift and the chair creak as he sat up. Tony spoke. "Finally you're up, kid. You should get to a real bed or couch. Your neck will feel like hell tomorrow if you don't."

She listened as Peter stood and began to walk towards the door. "Wait for a second, Peter." Tony said.

Tony took a deep breath, and Rose strained her ears to listen.

"Look Peter. You are a good kid, and are going to be serious help in a fight, if it comes to that. Which it probably will. But I can't have Rose getting involved with any of that. Don't try to deny it. I know you like her."

Peter began to interject, but Tony silenced him. "Shut up for a second. She may have my caliber of genius, but she is a kid and not to mention, my daughter. Once this is all over and we get her fixed up, which we will, I might let you be friends with her. _Friends_ , mind you."

Peter sputtered something nonsensical as he was ushered out of the door by Tony. Rose was happy for the darkness as it hid her red face and bitten lip. Leave it to Tony to make it more awkward than it had ever been. And who was he to deny Peter her company and possibly more than friendship? She was nearly an adult.

It almost made her 'wake up' and give Tony a piece of her mind. Almost.

But Tony walked over the her bedside, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you Rosalyn. I'll make things right, I promise." He began to walk away, and Rose reached out her hand.

"I love you too, Tony." Rose gave him a sleepy smile, wanting him to know how touched she was. Another thought pierced her mind, however, and she looked up at his shadowed and tired face.

"What was my mother's name, Tony?"

He didn't smile when he answered.

"Amora."

* * *

Rose sat in the medical room, alone. She watched the orange lines travel through her mind, interlacing and creating infinite patterns.

She felt a hundred years old. Everyone had left before she had woken, a message from Tony left on the main computer. Rose couldn't help but wonder what Natasha or Rhodes had had to say to get him out of the house, away from her.

Her 'condition' had not changed. Tony told her to send him updates every two hours, including her vitals. He had promised to be back within forty-eight hours. It had been three.

As she watched the holograms, a streak of bright blue crossed the image. So did another one. She thought of Peter. A spark of red traveled throughout.

The stone flared again, sending tingles down her neck. Curious, she expanded the image, only to see the orange energy traveling down her spine.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Thank you for reading! I received amazing feedback from my last chapter; thank you to all those who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I appreciate any and all comments that have been sent my way.**

 **This has been a slight whirlwind for me - I am a fast writer but can't seem to write this story fast enough. It's great to see my OC accepted and (it seems) well liked so far! I hope to have more interaction with Peter as time goes on.**

 **Rose is changing, and you'll get to read about it soon. If you've actually read this A/n...hey, there! If you're a comic junkie, you'll get Rose's mother's reference. Enjoy!**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **Thank you to all those who have reviewed:**

 **Witch of Scarlet: Wowza and thank you! Sorry about the cliffhanger - I think this chapter cleared some things up. Thank you so much for reviewing a second time and I'm glad you like the story! :)**

 **AmazonaZafrina: You sure are close with that guess ;). Thank you for reviewing and it's awesome you're excited! Happy reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Awakening

Music was drifting through the room.

Rose kept her eyes closed, wanting to sink back into the covers. She felt so exhausted; yesterday had been an absolute nightmare and she was praying that this new hell she was living would end. The music that woke her still traveled through the room, the volume quite low, yet loud in the silence of the morning.

She knew that song. Wish You Were Here. By Pink Floyd. What on earth?

Her eyes slowly opened, the sight above her confusing her groggy mind. Rose rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Above her, or perhaps below her, was her bed. Fifteen feet up in the air, laying with her comforter and pillow, was Rose. She lay on the ceiling, her body and blanket unaffected by the laws of gravity.

Rose let go of her comforter in fright only to watch it fall onto the bed below her. Or above her. Her mind said she was on the whitewashed ceiling, her body and point of view said she was resting comfortably on the 'ground'.

She gripped the sides of her pillow fearfully, her throat raw from screaming. She didn't dare move; she could fall any second. Rose told herself not to panic, attempting to steady her breathing.

There was no one was in this section of the building. It was unlikely anyone had heard her scream. Pink Floyd was still drifting from her prehistoric radio, the CD spinning like crazy.

Rose was at a complete loss of what to do. Her predicament would have been quite funny if she wasn't the object of hilarity. She turned her head to look out the window. Early morning clouds were making their way across the orange sky, which was lightening in the wrong direction with the sun rising _down_.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breathing. Her body was solidly planted on the ground, it seemed, and her world still remained right-side up.

Wait.

Was _she_ the one doing this?

Her headache was gone. Beautifully, miraculously, gone. Her entire body buzzed with a strange energy.

Timidly, Rose sat up, moving to sit on her pillow. She was hit with a wave of vertigo, seeing all of her furniture above her and the sun in the wrong position. She put her head between her knees, noting that the strings on her hoodie were not hanging down towards the ground. Perhaps anything she touched was. . . affected?

Rose moved her body forward and watched as the pillow fell down to join her comforter on the bed. Another wave of fear ran through her, and she lay back down. Her breathing accelerated. She needed to get down.

Shutting her eyes tightly, she imagined herself drifting slowly down onto her bed, falling as slowly and gracefully as a feather.

Rose let out another scream as she fell, quite rapidly, to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her lungs as she face-planted onto her bed, which was a lot less forgiving when launched at from fifteen feet above.

Terrified, Rose scrambled out of the bed, rolling unceremoniously onto the floor, banging her head into the nightstand on the way down. She rolled into a sitting position, rubbing her head with her right hand.

Rose shakily got to her feet, eyeing the ceiling with fear. Was she going to fall _up_ at any second? Her fall could have easily been chance, and not her doing.

Rose dropped to the ground at the thought, grabbing her carpet. Crawling across the floor, she reached her doorframe and grabbed on.

 _I must look absolutely ridiculous_ , Rose thought. She shimmied up the door, grabbing the doorknob and frame with white knuckles. It was like she was playing that childhood game where the floor was lava. Only Rose didn't know where or _what_ the lava was.

Her only thought was that she needed to get to the medical room, and fast. This was a message Tony was not going to believe.

* * *

Rose crawled across the hallway floor, and to anyone who might have been watching, looked like an absolute nutcase. She made her way towards the elevator, cursing Medical for being a level lower. Rose was so worried about falling up and cracking her skull on the ceiling that she refused to stand up. Better a bruised back than head.

If the stone was the one to blame for this, she had no idea when it would activate again.

She made it to the elevator, having to get on her knees for a second to press the button. When the ding sounded, Rose crawled into the metal box and pressed the floor for Medical. She rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. She hadn't noticed it was glass until now. Lucky her.

At the sound of the soft ding, Rose rolled back onto her stomach and crawled the short distance to the medical facility. In there, Rose stood. The ceiling was only a few feet above of her, and she thought she would be able to brace herself before impact.

Rose almost belted herself to a chair, and then remembered that anything she touched came with her. Exhibit A being her bedding. Another thought struck her: what about when her blanket fell? She would dwell on that later. Rose rushed over to the computer, gripping the edge of the table.

There were a few messages from Tony and one much more recent from Natasha. Rose had said she was sleeping in her room and would message Tony in the morning. She thought the every two hours message thing was over the top. She had been fine, really.

But now her palms were sweaty and her heart was still beating a mile a minute. Fear for what was happening and what the outcome might be had her damn near delirious.

When the orange energy traveled down her spine, she had initially panicked and almost called Tony. But it had dissipated as soon as it had appeared, receding back into her head before she could significantly freak out.

Now with shaking hands Rose opened Natasha's message to read that they had won. And they had lost. Steve and Bucky had gotten away. The 'rest' had been taken captive. Her message was brief and right to the point. They were on their way home.

Natasha's words, "We may have made a statement, but Steve will never listen. I did what I had to. Tony is less whole than he was before" rang through her ears.

It almost made her hesitate dialing Tony.

* * *

 ** _Tony_**

The plane ride was silent; Rhodey laying lengthwise across several seats, fighting for sleep amid the pain. Tony had never felt worse in his life.

Peter was icing a black eye, having just finished a phone call with Aunt May consisting of a bullshit story involving a science project. Tony was going to leave it up to him to come up with a reason for the beating he had gotten.

Nevertheless, the kid had done well. He had to note some of the improvements Rose had made had been wonderful. The suit was one of their best. And first.

Tony was more worried about Rose than he had ever been about another human being before, even Rhodes in his current condition. He loved her something crazy, and the amount of himself he saw in her made him both want to rejoice and be concerned. She was alone with something alien within her, and he was over in Germany attempting to make things right for them all.

It hurt no less that she had asked him to go. For her. Get the Cap back and bring Wanda home. He had succeeded at none of those things. Just locking up his closest friends and having one of them crippled. Tony was not Iron Man now. He was a broken man who was trying to do what was right.

Natasha sat with arms crossed and a stone cold face, no trance of regret shown on her features. Tony was livid with her, but they couldn't argue now, not with everything that had happened. Not until they were home.

Across from her sat Vision, who appeared to be meditating. Tony was also mad at him, but he had to admit he had seen it coming from a mile away. Damn Wanda.

Crazy cat guy was somewhere near the back of the plane, probably plotting how to kill Natasha for letting the Cap and Tin man go. Tony would need to keep an eye on him. His allegiance was not solidified and he had not spoken much since Cap's escape.

It was a sad, broken team on a flight back to New York. SHEILD had already picked up the others; Tony knew they would be taking them somewhere insanely secure. It seemed like he couldn't do anything right lately. First with Pepper, followed by the Accords, and now this.

Tony's phone ringing pierced the silence of the plane. He couldn't be happier to see the call was from Rose. Her fourth grade picture filled the screen, her bright and youthful face surrounded by a mess of curls. He could use a little cheering up and was glad she was taking the check in thing seriously. Hitting 'accept', Tony was beaten by Rose to the initial greeting.

"Hey Tony," Rose said, her voice cheerful, but somehow. . . Off.

"Hey Rosie." Tony saw Peter glance back at them, and Tony sent him a slight glare which successfully made the kid look pointedly somewhere else.

"Is everything okay?" Tony asked.

"It's great here! Um, well, it actually isn't but. . . Is now a bad time?" Rose said through the phone, her words rushed.

"Rosalyn. What is wrong?" Tony's voice was serious now. This wasn't a check in call after all.

"I don't know really how to say this," she began. "But this morning. . . I. . . I woke up on the ceiling, Tony."

There was a lengthy pause, in which Tony attempted to process what he had just heard. If he was driving a car, he might have crashed it.

"What the hell do you mean, "on the ceiling"?" Was Rose seriously joking right now? If so it was in poor taste.

Peter looked at him again, a confused expression on his face.

"Tony. This morning I woke up on the ceiling of my bedroom. I honestly have no other way to say this. The stone. . . the energy is now present throughout my whole body. I don't know what to do. You have to help me!" She now sounded terrified, her cool completely gone.

"Rosalyn, calm down. Tell me what happened and what is happening now. Take a deep breath, that's it." Unease and fear spread through his body. What had happened to her?

Rose let out a very shaky breath. "This morning, around eight I think, I woke up on the ceiling, my covers still around me. Everything I was touching didn't seem to be affected by. . . Gravity. I made myself fall off the ceiling - "

"You made yourself fall? You controlled it?" Tony's voice was rising now. Natasha also turned her head curiously in his direction.

"I. . . I think so. I panicked. I just imagined myself floating down and I fell down. Hard. I crawled to Medical, I'm there now. I was so terrified of falling up the whole time that I didn't dare go get my cell phone in the kitchen. What is happening to me?!" Her voice was near hysterical now.

"I need you to remain calm, Rosie. We will be home in less than four hours. Don't leave that room, and tie yourself to something if you must. Just don't leave that room, okay? Trust me. I am going to fix this. It's going to be okay. Just keep talking to me," Tony pleaded through the phone, Rose's panicked voice driving him over the edge.

"I think it's the infinity stone," she barely whispered. "I think I can control it, if I try."

"Rose, don't test yourself while you are alone! Don't - "

Tony was abruptly cut of as they flew into a thunderstorm, the phone dead silent.

* * *

 **Rose**

Rose shouted into the receiver, the connection lost.

"Tony! Tony! Dad! Please help me! I need help!" Tears blurred her vision, making it impossible for her to re-dial him.

She lay on the ground again, terrified. She clutched the silent phone as if it was her lifeline. She needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere where there weren't sharp needles and edges to run into if she fell, up or down. She couldn't listen to Tony. He wasn't there to talk her through this.

Army crawling across the floor, she opened the door and headed for the elevator. Rose was thinking about staying on the ground with all her might, it seemed to be getting harder to move forward. She felt. . .heavy. And slow. Rose spurred herself onward, making it to the elevator and punching the button for the training room.

Her destination was the wrestling room. About the size of a basketball court, it was mostly covered with thick wrestling mats for practice. Rose had been thrown around enough times by Nat to know that the mat covered walls were more forgiving than concrete. The ceiling wasn't covered, but she thought it was low enough that she could roll out of the way or at least fall into her back.

She continued down the hallway, her breathing growing labored.

When Rose finally reached the room, she gave up her tiresome crawling and struggled to her feet. It seemed unusually _hard_ to do so. Then Rose had a thought. What if she was increasing the gravity on herself?

This thought ate at her mind. Rose shut her eyes and thought of becoming lighter. Rose let out a surprised gasp as her back straitened and she stood taller, an invisible weight lifted from her shoulders.

She was the one doing this.

She was the one controlling her own gravity, not the stone.

* * *

 **A/n**

 **Well, there you have it. Hope it didn't disappoint and you like Rose's abilit(ies). There is much more to come, so stick around! Rose will certainly need Peter's help to figure things out :)**

 **Please leave a review - it lets me know in doing a good job and if I need to change/ add anything.**

 **For anyone who is wondering - The song mentioned at the beginning is one of my favorites. I feel like Rose would be a lover of Alternative/Rock. What's your favorite song?**

 **Please review and have a good day!**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **Thank you to all who reviewed!**

 **TheLightBehindHerEyes: Thank you very much - I think this chap will have cleared up your worries :) Thank you for your review and I'm happy you think it's cool!**

 **Izaria: Woohoo! I got Nat and Tony right! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and reading my story!**

 **Witch of Scarlet: I'm so happy you liked Chapter 7! I had fun writing that one ;) I ship 'em too - their relationship will be developing but no spoilers! Hopefully this chapter did not disappoint!**

 **.2016: Thank you - nice to try new things, eh? :)**

 **xxDreamWalkerxx: Thank you very much; hopefully it goes somewhere great!**


	9. Chapter 9: Silver and Gold

**_Peter_**

"Why can't I see her?" Peter asked, his voice laced with anger. Mr. Stark was refusing to tell him anything. Rose was in trouble, and he knew it.

"Because this doesn't concern you, Parker. We are dropping you off at home. You are going to stay with May until we figure this out," Mr. Stark was barely listening to him.

The jet was about to land at the compound, its engine slowing upon the descent. As soon as the plane touched the ground, Mr. Stark was up and moving, rushing towards the opening hatch.

Peter moved to follow him only to be stopped by Natasha, who gripped his arm tightly.

"Let him go. He needs to get to her and we need to get you home to May." Natasha's voice was stern but also soft, as if she was worried about angering him.

Peter let out a frustrated huff. "But what about Rose? She - "

"Will be fine," Natasha interrupted.

Natasha stepped around him and motioned for the medics standing outside of the plane to come and get Rhodes. They rushed in, carrying a stretcher.

Peter followed Natasha out of the plane, trying to think of an argument that would let him go see Rose. Nothing came to mind besides 'I just need to see her'.

Natasha didn't lead him to the Avenger's section of the building. Instead, she walked around to one of the many garages. She swiped her card and the door opened with a mechanical whirring.

Choosing a car at random and giving Peter a blunt "Get in," Natasha gunned the engine.

The drive was silent for a long time. Peter tapped the armrest and looked out the window, watching the trees of upstate New York fly by.

"Will you please stop that god awful tapping?" Natasha said, her patience worn thin.

"Sorry," Peter mumbled.

The drive continued, and Peter grew more fidgety. "What is going to happen to the rest of Captain America's team?"

Natasha took a rather viscous turn and sighed. "They will be imprisoned. It can't be helped. Steve still got away, so Tony will most likely continue chasing him. If Rose is okay, that is."

"And is she okay, I mean?" Peter asked.

Natasha sped up and looked over at him. "I wish I knew, Peter. Rose is not weak. But Tony told me as much as he told you, and we both know that was next to nothing." Natasha looked tired at the mention of Rose. Peter suspected she cared more about her than she let on.

Peter wondered if he should tell her. It couldn't hurt, could it? "When she first called him, I heard her say something to Mr. Stark. The plane was loud, but I was able to make some stuff out. I dunno if it was actually what she said, but - "

"Just spit it out, Peter," Natasha said.

"Well, um… Rose said she woke up on the ceiling. I don't now what that means, but, erm, it's something," Peter finished awkwardly.

Natasha's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure what she meant by that. It could be literal, or mean something else entirely." Natasha turned sharply at a stoplight, throwing Peter to the right and eliciting a help from him. "Sorry. We are almost to your apartment. Do you want me to walk you up there?"

"No! I mean, uh, no thank you." Peter did not want to have to answer aunt May's questions about the ultimately recognizable Black Window dropping him off. That would be an embarrassing conversation.

"Fine. But you need to stay there. If anything comes up we will call you. But until then, _stay put_." Natasha gave him a sideways glare as she illegally parked in the front of the building.

Peter got out of the car, glad to be rid of awkward silences and Natasha's crazy driving. "Thank you, Ms. Romanoff!"

Natasha gave him a small wave and was around to corner before he even made it to the front entrance.

Peter messed with the devices on his wrists. Some webbing had jammed the right one, making it extremely annoying to move his hand. Mr. Stark had added some sort of safety on them that prevented them from falling off easily. But what that really was doing now, Peter realized, was making it impossible to take off.

Peter walked to the elevator, still messing with his wrist all the way. Thankfully, there was no one else inside. Peter glanced up for only a second to press the button. His head shot back up what he saw his reflection in the mirrors that lined the elevator.

His eye was black and blue. His face hadn't done real well, apparently. The ability to be resistant to pain was not working in his favor this time.

Aunt May was going to kill him.

* * *

 ** _Tony_**

"Mr. Stark. Rose does not appear to be on this floor. Would you like me to locate her?" Vision hovered next to Tony, his calm demeanor driving him half mad.

"That's what I asked you to do before, damn it!" Tony rushed out of the Medical room. Rose was not where he told her to stay. Of course not.

He glanced at one of the computers and walked over, began to randomly search the security cameras. He came up short in both the lab and the training room. He checked the hallway her room was on and for privacy's sake hadn't installed a camera in her room. But he doubted she was there anyways.

Tony banged the table with his fist in frustration. She wasn't anywhere. Just when Tony was beginning to search the grounds, Vision spoke.

"There is a life form exhibiting a peculiar frequency on the level below us. I believe it is Rosalyn."

"Where?!" said Tony, already making his way towards the elevator.

Vision turned towards Tony, his head turned slightly to the side. "The training room covered in foam. Might I note the room's gravitational pull is unstable."

* * *

 ** _Natasha_**

Natasha was currently driving fifty over the speed limit. She had just run six red lights and was sure Tony's fees were going to be astronomical. It was his license plate, not SHIELDs. If he had anymore room to be angry at her, this would add to the list.

She was minutes away. Tony hadn't called like he said he would and she was getting a very bad feeling about what was going on.

Peter had been thankfully somewhat cooperative. She just hoped it would last long enough for her to calm Tony down and figure this whole fiasco out.

Natasha's heart leapt as the facility came into view. She floored it and sped like mad to the front entrance, haphazardly parking the car right at the door. She jumped out if the car and almost ran to the entrance, pausing to scan her ID. She hurried through the entryway and was discouraged by the lack of people in the main hall.

Natasha first went to medical, only to find it empty. She decided to go floor by floor. Something was wrong with the security cameras. All had gone fuzzy on the underground floors.

Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, she hopped down the stairs three at a time. Pushing open the fire door, Natasha slowed up as she continued down the hallway.

Just before she reached the end a huge bang resounded from the hall branching to the left. Running, Natasha turned the corner just in time to hear Tony let out a stream of profanities and an apology from Vision.

"What the hell is going on here?" yelled Natasha, coming closer to the door that they were trying to break into.

Tony, who was wearing one of his suit's gloves, was attempting to fire at the door. Vision stood by his side, neglecting to help.

It was he who answered. "We have located Ms. Stark and are currently attempting to enter the room she is residing in. The door has engaged its full defense mechanism without our consent. Mr. Stark has requested that I not use my abilities to enter should it hurt Rosalyn."

Tony sent him a glare. "And you'll damn well listen. If you go all laser on this door you could hit her. My real question is how did she reset the door's lock? It's only supposed to activate under attack or other disturbances."

"You're attacking it right now Tony. Ineffectively, might I add." Natasha watched as Tony tried to use the laser on his glove to carve a circle into the door, which was clearly not working.

"I am attempting non-invasive invasive action. I have no way to recalibrate it, and she has no way of opening it from the inside without computer access. There is a computer in there, but it's coded. She's gone and effectively locked herself in." Tony moved over to the computer stand at the side of the door in frustration; it was frozen on the the warning screen.

"Has she tried to contact you?" Natasha asked. He did not seem to be going about this problem very well.

"No. Not a word. This room also doubles as a panic room. It blocks most signal from entering or leaving and is pretty much apocalypse-proof." Tony glared at the door again.

"Can't Vision just go through it?" To Natasha this seemed like the blatantly obvious decision to make.

"Mr. Stark believes that seeing himself first will decrease Rosalyn's stress levels and she will respond calmly," Vision said.

Tony didn't respond to this statement and continued to prod the access computer.

Natasha looked at the door, puzzled by Rose's choice of refuge. The mat room was certainly safe, but there were other, closer rooms to her own she could have used.

Unless she thought she was going to be injured, it made no sense.

Tony might not be in his right mind, but Natasha was. "Tony you need to let Vision through. He could open the door from the interior computer and see if Rose is okay. There is no other way without blowing up the door."

Tony grumbled something about how he would prefer the blow up option but after a minute reluctantly nodded to Vision to proceed.

Vision glanced at both Natasha and Tony for a second, then drifted through the door.

* * *

 ** _Vision_**

Changing molecular density had always been an easy thing for Vision. Manipulation of matter was simple and routine, so when he met a barrier halfway through the door, he was surprised.

Arranging and rearranging his form, Vision met a strange wall of energy blocking his path into the room. Focusing his energy on observation, Vision realized the stone that had been so like to his own was the cause and source of this shield.

Vision was not unfamiliar with this, as he had personally felt his stone manipulated by Wanda herself, deeming him powerless and in her total control.

Vision had exerted no real force yet, he did not want to incur the wrath of the albeit weaker stone.

Careful to not disturb the stone's shield, Vision altered his own frequency state to drift through the shield. Much to his satisfaction, he passed through cleanly with no resistance. However, what he saw was enough to make even him pause.

Suspended in the center of the room, appearing to be asleep and limp, was Rosalyn. She floated as if held up by invisible strings and her hair cascaded wildly about her head.

Vision cautiously rose up to be level with her body. Her eyes were closed, and her skin emitted a soft silver glow, as if illuminated my moonlight. Her near-black hair appeared darker in contrasted with her silver skin. She moved slightly in the air, her curls fanning out as if touched by a light breeze.

Vision, who had completely forgotten about opening the door, hesitated as he reached out his had and lightly touched her forehead.

Upon coming into contact with the source of her power, his vision became alive with swirls of brilliant gold surrounding her. The gold reached to the corners of the room, its path looking much like it had in her brain the other day, swirling and gently moving about.

Previously invisible, it persisted about her whole figure, enveloping her like lightly spun golden rope. The barrier he had felt before was covering the walls like webbing in constant motion. Everything about the energy, it's movement, it's color, it's light. . . made it seem _alive_.

Removing his hand, Vision drifted back to the ground and walked over to the door. The golden energy had disappeared as soon as he lost contact with her, but he was still aware of its presence swirling about him.

* * *

 ** _Natasha_**

Vision was taking forever. Was something wrong? She hoped to God not. She tapped her foot impatiently, and let herself smile upon remembering that she had reprimanded Peter only a short while ago for doing the same thing.

Tony stood facing the door with his hands clasped tightly behind his back, slightly rocking on his heels.

After what have must have been seven or eight minutes, the mechanism of the door began to activate. It slowly opened, three layers of almost indestructible metal revealed one at a time.

The final section opened, and Natasha hurried forward with Tony. They climbed the three steps to the room to be met with a peculiar sight.

Rose, who glowed slightly, was floating five feet off the ground in the center of the room.

Tony and Natasha shared one panicked look and then continued forward.

They drew level with her, and Vision joined them at her side. She looked so peaceful, Natasha thought. But it did not overshadow the terror she was feeling.

Natasha brought her hand up and lightly placed it on her arm. She showed no reaction. Tony seemed to be struck dumb, and wasn't speaking.

Natasha looked closely at her face and said as softly as she could in the silence, "Rose?"

Rose's eyes flew open. The irises were a brilliant gold.

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 **A/n**

 **Do you really want to hear my excuses? Probably not. But a vacation was in there if you're wondering.**

 **Another chapter down! Some insight I hope. I hope you found it interesting and I appreciate any and all feedback as always :)**

 **\- Stella**

* * *

 **WitchofScarlet: Thank you again so much for reviewing! I was on vacay too so it's all good! :)**

 **xxTheChocoholic14xx: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed!**

 **.2016: Thank you!**

 **AmazonaZafrina: Things are just getting started! And thank you for reviewing!**

 **TheLightBehindHerEyes: The love for Peter is real :D And I love him too girl ;)**


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